The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for rotating tubular members, such as drill pipe. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for spinning a drill pipe during connection and disconnection of the drill pipe in a drill string.
In rotary drilling applications, a tubular drill string is formed from a series of connected lengths of drill pipe. The individual lengths of drill pipe are joined by threaded connections. During the drilling and completion of a well, the drill string must occasionally be pulled from the well and reinstalled. The process of pulling or installing the drill string is referred to as “tripping.” During tripping, the threaded connections between the lengths of drill pipe are connected and disconnected as needed. The connecting and disconnecting of adjacent sections of drill pipe (referred to as making or breaking the connection, respectively), involves applying torque to the connection and rotating one of the pipes to fully engage or disengage the threads.
In modern wells, a drill string may be thousands of feet long and typically is formed from individual thirty foot sections of drill pipe. Even if only every third connection is broken, as is common, hundreds of connections have to be made and broken during tripping. Thus, it can be seen that the tripping process is one of the most time consuming and labor intensive operations performed on the drilling rig.
Currently, there are a number of devices that seek to speed tripping operations by automating or mechanizing the process of making and breaking a threaded pipe connection. These devices include tools known as power tongs, iron roughnecks, and pipe spinners. Many of these devices are complex pieces of machinery that require two or more people to operate and require multiple steps, either automated or manual, to perform the desired operations. Additionally, many of these devices grip the pipe with teeth that can damage the drill pipe and often cannot be adjusted to different pipe diameters without first replacing certain pieces, or performing complex adjustment procedures.
Thus, the embodiments described herein are directed to methods and apparatus for gripping and spinning a pipe for making or breaking a connection that seek to overcome these or various other limitations of the prior art.